Chinatown’s official lineup took shape in 2007, when Pierre-Alain Faucon (vocals/keyboards) had been writing songs with his old friend Félix Dyotte (vocals/guitar). The duo decided to put a band together and recruited Toby Cayouette (bass), Gabriel Rousseau (drums) and Julien Fargo (guitar/vocals). The 5 veteran musicians settled into an old gramophone factory in Montreal and turned it into the rehearsal space where they would define their sound.

The Montreal quintet, stealing its name from Roman Polanski’s noir classic, sees its first signs of success when their song Retour à Véga, performed by fellow Montrealers The Stills, climbs onto the American college radio charts. Despite being sung in French, the song is released by Atlantic Records and reaches considerable success in the United States, as well as an impressive amount of downloads via the Web. Retour à Véga also appears on the official soundtrack to Wicker Park (remake of French film L’appartement).

In 2007, the young band is offered a tour in Asia – 8000 spectators in 12 shows in China and Taiwan. The 5 musicians reach a crucial turning point and make their way home tighter and closer than ever; charming symbol for a band called Chinatown!

In 2008, momentum starts picking up. Strut Magazine calls them the "Next Big Thing" and Nightlife Magazine lists them as one of the bands to watch out for. The band turn heads in their performances at M for Montreal, at the La Rouge festival in Nominingue, opening for Jean Leloup at the Pepsi Coliseum in Québec in front of 7000 people. Their songs also appear on many compilations, such as J’aime CISM, Nightlife Magazine, and Québec Émergent. It’s also in 2008 that the band self-produces and self-releases its first EP, L'amour, le rêve et le whisky. College and community radio stations eat up the EP as soon as it is released and all 4 songs see major airplay. L'amour, le rêve et le whisky was a mouth-watering appetizer that preceded Cité d'or, Chinatown's debut, which was released in May 2009.

Produced by Gus Van Go (The Stills, Vulgaires Machins, Xavier Caféine) and Werner F, Cité d’or is a blend of catchy tunes oscillating between late 60s French pop and current indie rock. On this album, Chinatown delivers a whimsical blend of music at once evocative and accessible, drifting between the catchy melodies of Apprendre à danser, Pénélope, La vrille, Bateau de querelle, etc. Cité d'or earns the band two ADISQ nominations in 2010, as well as the Révélation Radio-Canada 2009-2010 prize and the SOCAN prize for best new song in 2010.  

In May 2012, Chinatown resurfaces with Comment j'ai explosé, an ambitious and rich second album, that better reflects the strength of the band's music and lyrics. In songs such as Culpabilité, the first single, Cassez-moi la tête, Retour à Véga, that the band reappropriated, Tôt ou tard, Vivre les pieds nus, Le serment vénimeux, or Dors, Chinatown's second effort is certain to win you over.

For the most part, the songs that were put to tape during May and June 2011 at Breakglass studios in Montreal, came out of an intense written period that followed the tours supporting Cité d'or, that took the band, namely, to France and Switzerland. And while engineering duties were helmed by Besnard Lakes leader and producer Jace Lasek (Wolf Parade, Suuns, The Stars et Land of Talk), the band itself assumed all production duties, before handing over the tracks to John Goodmanson for mixing, an American mixing engineer and producer known for his work on classic albums by Death Cab for Cutie, Blonde Redhead, Girls, Nada Surf et The Posies. Every step of the way, the team aimed to infuse the material with a sense of space and texture, never hesitating to take the road less travelled when the need for experimentation presented itself. 

All of these contributions helped Chinatown create a work of which it is proudest to date, an album of substance and pleasure that betrays a seasoned pop sensibility, a rare rock eloquence and creative appetite.